200 Indian wedding guests allowed to land at South Africa's main military air base

South Africa's government has been accused of abusing state resources after
200 wedding guests of a wealthy Indian family with ties to Jacob Zuma were
allowed to land in a privately chartered jet at the country's main military
air base.

The Gupta family chartered a large private jet to fly in guests, said to include Bollywood stars and unnamed Indian ministers, to Waterkloof Air Force Base on the outskirts of Pretoria.

The arrivals section of the airport was transformed into a VIP lounge, where drinks were served by a mobile bar service. Immigration officials were bussed in to stamp passports, although the normal customs rules were apparently waived.

Guests then climbed in to a fleet of luxury cars and buses to be transported with a blue-light police escort to Sun City, South Africa's gambling capital, for the four-day "wedding of the year" said to be costing millions of pounds.

At its centre is 24-year-old Aakash Jahajgarhia and his fiancée Vega Gupta, the 23-year-old niece of billionaire brothers Ajay and Atul Gupta, the owners of South Africa's New Age newspaper and Sahara computer firm.

The brothers are rumoured to be so close to the president that they have been known to tell prospective ministers of their appointments before him – something the ANC has denied.

The news of Waterkloof's use prompted outrage from opposition parties. Aside from military activities, the air base is normally only used to receive visiting foreign dignitaries.

Terror Lekota, a former ANC defence minister who now sits in opposition, accused Mr Zuma of running South Africa as a "personal fiefdom" with benefits for his powerful friends.

"There must have been instructions given to the defence force to allow it to land at the air force base," he said. "The president of this country, who is the commander in chief, must answer because the relationship between him and the Guptas has been under question for a long time."

The government's own alliance partner, the Congress of South African Trade Unions, said it was an "absolute insult" to South Africans that private individuals could use a public facility for their "social activities".

"Some family with not a single scar to show for a struggle for democracy now using national key point for wedding. This is just a scandal," Cosatu head Zwelenzima Vavi said.

By Wednesday afternoon, it was still unclear who had authorised the use of Waterkloof.

The Guptas said in a statement they had sought and obtained permission through the Indian High Commission since Lanseria, the Johannesburg airport normally used for charter flights, was too small to accommodate its Airbus A330.

"Waterkloof was used with full permission of the authorities to receive foreign dignitaries, including some ministers," spokesman Haranath Ghosh said. "Naturally suitable protocol was used to receive and transport the foreign ministers to the wedding."

Gwede Mantashe, the ANC's Secretary General, sought to blame the South African National Defence Force.

"The ANC waited patiently for the SANDF, the body delegated with authority over (Waterkloof), to explain to the nation how these private individuals managed to land aircraft there," he said. "Up until now, no explanation has been forthcoming."

Siphiwe Dlamini, SANDF's spokesman, said the military knew nothing about what happened.

"As far as I know, no permission has been granted to a private citizen to use the base," he said. "It is a military base and a national key point used by government and its guests."

President Zuma kept silent on the matter, with his spokesman saying he was in Zimbabwe and "out of the loop".